Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins reported 293 new COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths on Friday.
U.S. makes $5.29 billion deal with Pfizer for COVID treatment, reports the U.S. News and World Report. If Pfizer’s experimental COVID treatment is authorized by the FDA, the U.S. government will buy 10-million treatment courses. Earlier this month, Pfizer reported its pill cut hospitalizations and deaths by 89 percent in high-risk adults with early symptoms of COVID.“This treatment could prove to be another critical tool in our arsenal that will accelerate our path out of the pandemic,” says President Biden.
CDC expands COVID Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna booster to all adults, the Dallas Morning News reports. After a FDA authorization, a unanimous vote by the CDC’s advisory committee and a final approval by the CDC, boosters are now available to everyone 18 and over. The CDC is urging boosters for people over 50 in efforts to ward off a winter COVID surge. Find the updated booster guidelines here.
Texas unemployment claims are at lowest pandemic level yet, KERA reports. The Texas unemployment rate has fallen to 5.4 percent. Last week, 14,790 Texans filed first-time unemployment claims, down about 8% from the week before. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas predicts Texas will recover jobs lost during the pandemic in the first half of next year.
